If you get the DLX you are going to be standing over it the whole time. I have never used the Bosch but people who have say you just add all the ingredients, turn it on, then walk away. I have a DLX and like it, only thing that is kinda annoying is having to babysit it. I got my DLX here, they have both the DLX and the Bosch. http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/magic_mill_dlx_mixer.aspx. The DLX is $569 and the Bosch is $399 and the shipping is free.

I was using both a Bosch Universal and an Electrolux DLX next to each other for some time until I finally sold the DLX. This post is going to sound like an add for the Bosch, so please forgive me, but there was honestly nothing about the DLX that I preferred. The Bosch always produced the best end product with every type of dough that I made. Here are some things to think about:

Both mixers have the same maximum and minimum capacity, but at with smaller batch sizes the DLX didn't seem to make dough that turned out as good as it did with a larger batch size. The Bosch makes the same high quality dough even with very small or very large batches.

The dough coming out of the Bosch feels exactly like the dough that has come out of fork and spiral mixers that I have used when consulting for professional pizzerias. It is incredibly smooth and easy to stretch out to the thinnest of thin. The DLX doughs usually had at least some level of webbing to them, and it was much harder to get a skin that stretched with the incredible smoothness and continuity of the Bosch. With the DLX it was more common to have thin spots in my dough, but with the Bosch it is always a nice even crust.

The Bosch couldn't be easier to use. I put 100% of my ingredients for the recipe into the mixer, turn it on for 30 seconds, give the dough a 20 minute autolyse, then turn the mixer back on for about 8-10 minutes and the dough is done. To get a high quality dough with the Dlx I was standing over the mixer slowly adding flour until the final dough hydration was reached. The mix time was longer, so that was usually 15 minutes or more of babysitting the mixer. With the bosch there is no need to stand and watch the mixer at all. I am free to do other things while it is mixing.

Because of how I had to mix with the DLX, gradually adding the flour, I got inconsistent results. How fast or slow you add the flour can really change the outcome from a dough that is not that great, to a dough that is high quality. There is a lot of guess work involved with knowing when the dough is perfectly mixed. With the Bosch the dough is the same every time, and always very high quality. Once you hone in on the appropriate mix time for a particular recipe or flour type it always has a similar end result.

Because of the way the DLX mixes with its roller and scraper it is very difficult to get a finished dough hydration of anything less than 62%. Even that number is hard to reach, and I always had to pull the dough out and hand knead in some flour at the end to get any lower. If I wanted to get a 60% hydration dough quite a bit of hand kneading was required, and I often thought that between that and the babysitting of the mixer I was working SO much that I might as well have just mixed the whole batch by hand (which is a lot of work!). This is no longer the case with the Bosch. I think that my dough is now better with the Bosch than I can achieve by hand or with the DLX. With the Bosch it is very easy to get a low or a high hydration dough, and I have easily gone as low as 56% with caputo flour.

I have never had an issue with the Bosch "walking". There are suction cup feet if you need them, as Mark mentioned, but even if I don't push the cups down so they hold the mixer in place it doesn't seem to move very much. The only downside with the Bosch that I have found is that it does tend to heat up the dough a little more than the DLX did. To offset this I simply use water that has been in my fridge, and it is no problem hitting a 75 degree finished dough temperature. Many people look to hit a finished dough temp of 85 degrees, so this is definitely not a problem.

And finally the best part. The Bosch is CHEAPER! I have owned a number of different home mixers including a Kitchen Aid, Santos fork mixer, and an Electrolux DLX. I have also consulted for a number of pizzerias around the US, so I have worked with a lot of different professional mixers including both Doyon and an Empire brand spiral mixers, a Pietroberto fork mixer, and a bunch of different planetary mixers by Hobart, Thunderbird, and Eagle. I honestly can't say enough good things about the Bosch, and I think it can make a dough that is just as good as you can achieve with the professional grade mixers that are used in bakeries and pizzerias around the country.

Scott, thank you very much for taking the time to write such a detailed response. I was really impressed and somewhat sold after reading the ad for Bosch but your write up definitely confirms that decision for me. Again it sounds like both are great mixers, but it seems like the Bosch can really turn out a better product than the DLX and hand kneading. I love the detail you included about the consistency of the dough and the superior window paning.

I also have the Bosch and love it. Everyone is correct, just add the ingredients and walk away! Not only that but it does it in a very short period of time without adding too much heat. I typically run it on low for about 6 minutes and the dough always comes out consistently. I have made up to 8 lbs of dough with no issues. The main downside is small batches can be difficult to mix (usually a single ball for a 14"). The suction cups hold it very firm and cleanup is very easy.

Is this guy doing something wrong? It doesn't look that easy to me & the dough is not doing much except spinning around in the centre of the machine. By eye, the finished dough looks like it needs alot more kneading. I also have to say that I did up a batch of dough for Calzone with my DLX last week @ 50% hydration & it mixed perfectly. I personally don't mind finishing all my doughs with a simple hand knead to get them just right. As a matter of fact, Antonino Esposito recommends it; he used a spiral mixer in his demo & finished his dough with a quick hand knead.

Matt,I don't think the guy was doing anything wrong. It does appear that the dough needs to be kneaded a little more, but it can easily be achieved. Both mixers looked very good when I was shopping. I bought the DLX and I love it. If you read the Yahoo groups there were people who had both. There is definitely a baby sitting feature with the DLX but it has more ways of changing the arm and scraper settings. I like to spend the time watching the dough develop so I do not mind. It took me a little bit of practice to make it work. I find that I change the settings as it develops. The people in the Yahoo groups called it being one with the doughnut. I like it because when I get close to the proper knead I increase the speed with less knead and add bottom bowl friction very easy. I now use a combination of speed changes with the knead to achieve the proper dough, at the proper temp, in the proper time. IMO I think that the dough temp between 73 and 78 is more important than anything. I use 73 for Pizza and 76 for bread. By using a reliable hand held temp gun it is very easy to achieve. Make sure you check the gun against an accurate thermocouple or ice. I bought a separate gun for high temps from harbor freight for $50 and it registers 8 degrees higher at low temps. Both mixers are great because they are open and you can see the transformation take place.

Tranman,If you go with the Bosch I would recommend not walking away from it and watch the dough develop, and also use a temp gun to achieve an exact temp. IMO the finished dough temps are more critical than a scale. You can always be able to add a a little more flour or water to get the proper consistency, but there is no substitution for temp.

The video of the Bosch that you linked above is not how I mix my dough. After the addition of all of my recipe ingredients I do a 20 minute rest, which I have found is very important to how the machine handles the dough. If you just throw all the flour in there and turn it on for the full duration of your mix the machine does not work to its maximum potential. I am not sure how many people have tried this method, but if there are any Bosch naysayers out there I have a feeling they are not using this step or they havent sampled the products produced by this machine.

I know there are going to be some people out there with DLX mixers that are not going to like my posts on this thread, and I am sure there are many that don't mind putting in all the extra time that you need to put in using that mixer. Still, I must add that I am not a newbie. I made hundreds... probably closer to a thousand batches of dough in my DLX with and without hand kneading to finish up. I tried every conceivable way to mix in that machine, as it was my workhorse for many years at a point in my life when I was making multiple batches of dough every day. Yes, I was able to make great pizza. Yes, at times I could get close to the quality of what I always get out of the Bosch, but in the end the Bosch is cheaper and way easier to use with no need to hand knead at the end. Take that as my personal opinion, and feel free to disagree, but before you do please live for at least a few months of heavy usage using both machines side by side. I really have been avoiding posting this information only because I didn't want to offend anyone that already has the DLX. Ultimately I am just totally swamped with personal messages on the forum asking which mixer I prefer (Bosch, Santos, or DLX), and I just want to save some other pizza fanatics like myself the cost of spending too much on a machine that in my opinion does an inferior job of mixing.

On a final note. With all my slamming of the DLX, I must admit that I don't notice a huge difference between the quality of the end product between the two machines if I make a high hydration dough. If you are in the mid 60's or above both machines do a great job (although it is still much more work with the dlx). I make many different types of pizza at many oven temps, plus I am an avid bread baker, so for me a machine that can easily handle any hydration is very important.

Damn Scott I wish I knew you before I got my DLX... btw hows the starter? I tried to PM you about something but your inbox was full and now I know why. Anyone wanna swap a DLX thats 2 months old for a BOSCH... .

Scott,I wasn't knocking your post, and I respect your opinion. Without ever using a Bosch I cannot really recommend one over the other. That is why I posted more general points in the direction of links, or book quotes between the both. I would much rather the person research it themselves than have that investment over my opinion. I have been using mine for only a few months and I get consistently great results with out a hand knead. I attribute this to a consistant finished dough temp. I also vary certain things depending on the recipe. I especially do not add salt until the temp gets to be about 68 degrees from a starting point of 63 degrees. I make dough just about every day also, but never twice a day. these batches have varied greatly in ratio, and I have always had to baby sit full time. I just wanted to offer some insight on using the DLX in different ways. It seems that with all the variations of the scraper, roller, adding order, autolyse, finished dough temp, etc every possible combination would be a strong statement. Just a passing note, it seems that nature really does abhore a vacuum. Every time someone gets to far in one direction it is only natural to balance it out.

Brickstone,Keep working with it. Checkout the Yahoo groups. Most of the people hated it until they became "One with the doughnut".

If all else fails improvise, overcome, and adapt. I know you said you were not mechanically inclined, but it would not take much to incorporate a KA spiral hook if all else fails. Just stick it in a drill and mount it on a 2x4 if need be. With the bowl spinning it would be close to a Micro SP5, and be perfect. Well, then again there are the reciprocating arm mixers that some say trump the spirals, as shown in this video. Where does it end, I think we are all worse than Trekkies

I made a batch the other day that I think was the best I have made so far. I was watching this video the other day, those mixers are called Diving Arm mixers. Do you know what he is adding in at 00:33 in the video, I think its yeast but IDK. And if it is yeast is it lievito di birra?